Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Testicular Fortitude

Every so often coaches make decisions that define them. Bob Stoops made two last Saturday.

Last weekend OU got up on Texas A&M 14-3 in the first quarter. After scoring our second touchdown, Stoops called for an onside kick. Brilliant. Nobody saw it coming, and we almost recovered. Ultimately, A&M took the short field and scored a touchdown. The onside failed, but Stoops had sent his message - we're here to win.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter, OU leading 17-10. After an OU fumble, A&M has 3rd and goal from the 2 with 8:00 remaining. Most coaches would have handed the ball to Javorskie Lane twice and tried tie the game. Those of you who don't follow Big XII ball might not know that Lane is an over 300 lb running back (despite his 265 listed weight) that is nearly impossible to stop. He's scored a TD in every game this year.

What did Dennis "shrunken scrot" Franchione do? Called a pass (incomplete) then took the points. This decision was somewhat defensible, but A&M would still need a TD to win. But the way OU's defense was playing A&M wasn't likely to get that close again.

OU fumbled again, and A&M got the ball in Sooner territory. Once again the Sooner defense held, and A&M had 4th and 6 at the OU 22. There was 3:28 remaining, and A&M only had one timeout. Coach Fran decided to hike up his skirt and kick another field goal (which, from 39 yards is no gimmie). They made it, and pulled within 1.

At this point, you have to think A&M would try the onside. With only one timeout left and an offense that is based on the running game, time was running out. Of course they kicked it deep, and OU took over.

A&M's defense held, and OU was faced with 4th and inches on the Sooner 29 with 1:30 left. Stoops considered punting, but then decided to go ahead and get the first down and win the game. OU made the first down on a qb sneak (and would have gotten it in any event, A&M had their famous 12th man on the field [sub-sub comment: how well coached is a team with 12 men on the field coming out of a timeout on the biggest play of the season?]).

As OU was lining up on 4th down, the commentators asked "how many coaches in America would go for this?" I don't know the answer to that, but I'm glad Stoops is one of them.

Here are a few quick thoughts/links for those of you who couldn't care less about OU:

Yesterday was the 15 year anniversary of My Ass Got Infected Coach's announcement he had a slight case of the HIV. I'm happy for Magic as an individual, surviving this long. On the other hand, I think it has sent a dangerous message to kids: AIDS can be managed, it's something you can control. We all know that's not the case, but as long as Magic looks healthy there will be people that don't treat the disease with the respect it deserves.

Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was killed last night. Pata is the second Hurricane shot this year, and things seem out of control in South Beach. Maybe the things that have happend this season aren't all Coker's fault, but change has to start at the top.